Research Presentation Tips Ms. Cusmano

In the beginning….. Have a slide that states your subject, your name & your hour. Next slide: should be your attention grabber Next slide: should be your thesis STATEMENT—not a question!

Each slide should…. Be one of the points on your outline Sometimes it could be pictures, a video clip or a chart/diagram that goes with a point on your outline Less is more…don’t put that many words on a slide.

Example of a bad slide This page contains too many words for a presentation slide. It is not written in point form, making it difficult both for your audience to read and for you to present each point. Although there are exactly the same number of points on this slide as the previous slide, it looks much more complicated. In short, your audience will spend too much time trying to read this paragraph instead of listening to you.

Good Fonts Use at least an 18-point font Use different size fonts for main points and secondary points this font is 24-point, the main point font is 28-point, and the title font is 36-point Use a standard font like Times New Roman or Arial

Bad Fonts CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ Don’t use a complicated font

Color done right Use a color of font that contrasts sharply with the background Ex: blue font on white background Use color to reinforce the logic of your structure Ex: light blue title and dark blue text Use color to emphasize a point But only use this occasionally

Color done wrong…. Using a font color that does not contrast with the background color is hard to read Using color for decoration is distracting and annoying. Using a different color for each point is unnecessary Using a different color for secondary points is also unnecessary Trying to be creative can also be bad

Backgrounds done right… Use backgrounds such as this one that are attractive but simple Use backgrounds which are light Use the same background consistently throughout your presentation

Backgrounds done wrong… Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or difficult to read from Pictures as backgrounds are REALLY challenging. Try to avoid them or just insert the picture…don’t use it as a background.

Cusmano’s Powerpoint Peeves! Typos: there are not that many words that go on a powerpoint slide. PROOFREAD! Transitions: Include a few transitions in your powerpoint or ONE animation scheme for the whole thing.

Citations…. If it is a quote OR a paraphrase—it should be clearly cited on your powerpoint. Needs to match with your outline (Author #) OR (Author) OR (“Title”) **Make sure you cite video clips and any charts or graphs that you use. You do not need to cite pictures!

Video Clips Make sure you talk for at least five minutes! Make sure you hyperlink the URL of your video clip into your presentation—and that it works.

Don’t forget your outline… Everything in your presentation should correspond with your outline Change your presentation=change your outline and your works cited! A final copy of your powerpoint slides, your works cited & your outline will be due the day you present. **Presentations begin May 13th!**